Duffy to accept pay earned during government shutdown

Posted:
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 5:03 PM EDT

After staying silent for almost a week, the office of Rep. Sean Duffy (R-7th District) said the congressman will accept nearly $8,000 earned during the 16-day government shutdown that he initially asked to be withheld.

"Now that the shutdown has ended, and all other federal workers are receiving their pay, he is going to accept his pay as well," said Duffy spokeswoman Cassie Smedile. "He was in Washington DC working hard to find a compromise to avoid a shut down and delay the predictably disastrous roll-out of Obamacare."

For the past week Duffy's office had repeatedly ignored requests from Newsline 9 for comment on his plans about his shutdown pay.

Meanwhile, Rep. Ron Kind (D-3rd District) is also accepting his shutdown pay, his office said Tuesday.

"Furloughed federal workers are now receiving pay covering the entire duration of the shutdown so Rep. Kind will do so as well," said Kind spokesman Peter Knudsen. "Unlike some of his colleagues in Congress, Rep. Kind did not support shutting down the government, and voted to end the shutdown as soon as possible to get federal workers back on the job."

Most senators and members of Congress earn $174,000 a year. Broken down, it amounts to about $7,600 for 16 days of work.

As for Wisconsin's two senators, each is taking a different approach to the pay they earned during the shutdown.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican, will return the $7,627 he received during the shutdown to the U.S. Treasury, aide Patrick McIlheran told Newsline 9 last week.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, announced she will accept the pay now that the shutdown is over. She had told Newsline 9 she would not accept her paycheck as long as the government was closed.